So you get home after a 13 hour day, change to jammies, settle in front of the computer (yes it is possible to work in front of a computer all day and relax in front of one at night – yes it is an obsession, no I do not know of any meeting that will cure you or me). Anyway so I am home comfy and settled, the phone rings and I’m told the chicken is overflowing. Oh bummer…do I go or do I stay….alright the backstory.
Each year at North Coast we put on a Seder dinner. The word Seder is a Hebrew word that literally means “order.” Although the word has a number of uses, it is most commonly used to refer to the Passover Seder, a Jewish holiday. During the Passover Seder, Jewish history is relived through the reading of the Haggadah and consumption of traditional foods and drinks. During the Seder, the enslavement of the Jewish people and their exodus from Ancient Egypt is remembered. Seders are generally performed in one’s home and are considered to be a family ritual. That said, it is pretty cool that North Coast chooses to put on this “family” event for 200!
So planning and putting this event on falls under my department. Previous years we had the event catered, but me being me, I thought we should cook. Last year we had Boston Market – while it is good food, it not exactly Passover fare…and we served corn bread – a pretty big Passover no-no.
So we searched the web and came up with some amazing Passover-friendly dishes, including Apricot Marinated Chicken, Potato Kugel, Red Cabbage Salad, Grill Asparagus and Green Salad. After church Sunday, we quickly shopped, shopped, shopped then returned to church to cook, cook, cook. After 6 or so hours we had all the prep work done, everything in trays and in the frig for the night…….headed home. So when you stack metal tray on metal tray filled with slightly frozen marinated chicken – what happens? Well the chicken defrosts, the trays sink into each other and the marinade rises and rises right out of the pans…flowing thru the refrigerator, streaming out the door and onto the floor. Apricot/Mayonnaise glazy marinade in mass creeping slowly across the floor. But I am in my jammies, so do I stay or do I go……I stayed. Figured it would be just as big a mess the next day – the chicken was till marinating so whatever!
Well, the event went off on Monday night without a hitch – great time had by all – the food was pretty darn good. A little (okay a lot) of mopping of the floor and scooping mass marinade from inside the refrigerator, all is good and ready for the military wives breakfast this next weekend.
